British PM Theresa May vows to stay as party plotters attempt to topple her

Updated
Sat 7 Oct 2017, 10:13 AM AEDT

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Theresa May's authority was already diminished by her decision to call a snap election in June.

AP: Yui Mok

British Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to stay on as leader to provide stability, after a former chairman of her Conservative Party announced he had garnered the support of 30 politicians who wanted her to quit.

But former party chairman Grant Shapps told BBC radio: "I think she should call a leadership election."

After Ms May's bungled election, her failure to unite the cabinet and a poor party conference, "the writing is on the wall", he said.

Ms May's authority was already diminished by her decision to call a snap election in June that lost her party its majority in Parliament days before Brexit talks opened.

Though no Conservative ministers have publicly indicated any support for the plot, such a blunt demand for Ms May to quit indicates the extent of her weakness while she attempts to navigate the intricacies of the negotiations to leave the EU.